Robert Ballard is probably the most famous deep-sea explorer in the past 100 years. While he is best known for his historic discovery of the wreckage(残骸) of the R.M.S. Titanic which sank to the bottom of the sea in 1912, he also discovered the wreckage of the Bismarck and the Yorktown. Over his career, Dr. Ballard has completed over 120 deep-sea journeys and continues to push exploration to new depths with new technologies and strategies. His new high-tech Inner Space Center at the University of Rhode Island links scientists all over the world and makes it possible to identify new discoveries in realtime.

Reporter: What were you like as a kid?

Ballard: I was a very “active” kid with lots of interests including sports (football, basketball, and tennis), fishing, and studies.

Reporter: Do you have a hero?

Ballard: My hero is Captain Nemo from the book, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne and his submarine the Nautilus.

Reporter: What do you daydream about?

Ballard: I dream about undersea exploration.

Reporter: How did you get into your field of work?

Ballard: It started with a scholarship to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, in the summer of 1959 when I was a junior in high school. That summer, I went to sea on two separate expeditions in Baja California with various oceanographers(海洋学家). During one of those expeditions, I met Dr. Robert Norris, a Scripps graduate with a Ph. D. in marine geology, who invited me to come to the University of California, Santa Barbara where I ended up getting my undergraduate degree in Geology and Chemistry with minors in Math and Physics.

Reporter: What’s the best piece of advice that anyone has ever given you that you can share with us?

Ballard: Follow your dreams and don’t let anyone talk you out of them.

Reporter: Do you have any good jokes?

Ballard: I prefer sayings to jokes. My favorite is, “Never get into the thick of thin things.”

21. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that Robert Ballard      .

A. is president of a university and travels a lot

B. is the most famous deep-sea explorer in history

C. is still contributing to the discovery of the wreckages of three ships

22. From the passage we know Nemo           .

A. is Jules Verne’s nickname     B. is the name of a ship

C. is a sailor on a submarine     D. is a character in a book

23. What can we know about Ballard?

A. He was lucky to meet Dr. Robert Norris.

B. He once wrote a book about the sea.

C. He loves jokes more than proverbs.

D. He used to be tired of studying.

24. What’s the passage mainly about?

A. The great achievements of Robert Ballard.

B. An interview with a famous deep-sea explorer.

C. A brief introduction to famous Robert Ballard.

D. What a famous deep-sea explorer is like.

A small robot may help children who are recovering from a long-term illnesses in the hospital or at home.

These children may feel isolated from their friends and classmates. The robot takes their place at school. Through the robot, the children can hear their teachers and friends. They also can take part in class from wherever they are recovering.

A Norwegian company called No Isolation created a robot. The co-founders of No Isolation are Karen Dolva and Marius Aabel. The robot is called AV1. AV1 goes to school for a child who is at home while recovering from a long-term illness. And the child’s school friends must help. They carry the robot between classes and place the robot on the child’s desk.

Dolva explains how the robot AV1 works. She says, from home, the child uses a tablet or phone to start the robot. Then they use the same device to control the robot’s movements. At school, the robot becomes the eyes, ears and voice of the child. The child can take part in classroom activities from wherever she/he is recovering—whether at home or from a hospital bed. The robot is equipped with speakers, microphones and cameras make communicating easy. It was designed to be tough. It is water resistant and can take a fall from a desk without damage.

Inside AV1, there is a small computer connected to a 4G network. A small camera hooked up to a small computer could do the job. But that would not be the same. AV1 is large and looks like a human for a reason. Dolva says this is important because the robot is supposed to be a friend to the children.

And robots are, quite simply, cool. The robot just became available to the public. Hopefully AV1 will help some children feel less lonely while they are absent from class.

25. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “isolated” in Paragraph 2?

A. freed    B. tired     C. banned      D. separated

26. What can we know about AV1?

A. It can go to school on its own.    B. It is small and looks like a kid.

C. It can replace children to attend classes.     D. It was created by Dolva and Aabel.

27. How are the movements of AV1 controlled?

A. By using a tablet or phone.    B. By joining in classroom activities.

C. Through a small speaker.      D. Through a small camera.

28. Who is AV1 mainly designed for?

A. Children who have just recovered from illnesses.

B. Children who can’t go to school for a long time.

C. Children who are bored with going to school.

D. Children who can’t see, hear or speak.

Anvitha Vijay has built two educational apps and is at work on a third. She aims to use her skills to help others.

Need an app for that? Anvitha Vijay, 9, can build it. With the help of YouTube videos, the young techie from Melbourne, Australia, learned to code at age 7. Soon, she was trying her hand at making apps.

“When I first got my iPad, I was fascinated by all the apps on it,” she told TFK. “It wasn’t long before I wanted to create my own.”

She built her first two apps with her younger sister in mind. Smartkins Animals helps children identify more than 100 animals and their sounds. Smartkins Rainbow Colors teaches kids colors. Each app has been downloaded thousands of times.

Anvitha’s skills won her a scholarship to attend a big tech conference hosted by Apple in San Francisco, California. There, she got applicable tips from the pros. She went to workshops where she learned about the latest software for app building. All that training led to an idea for a third app. This one, called GoalsHi, inspires kids to practice good habits. Users are rewarded for achieving goals, such as eating their vegetables or practicing piano. Anvitha says the rewards are like getting a sticker for a job well done. “Kids can set goals with this app and get stars when they achieve them,” she says. “The idea is to empower and motivate kids to achieve one little step a day.”

Anvitha’s goal is to continue creating technology that helps kids learn while having fun. But even more important to her is that the world sees the power of technology in kids’ hands. “The more training we get in tech at an early age,” she says, “the better chance we have of becoming innovation champions who will one day change the world.”

29. What can we know about Anvitha?

A. She made her first app at 7.

B. She first learned about apps through her iPad.

C. She made a speech at the conference in California.

D. She used her scholarship to try making her third app.

30. What’s the function of GoalsHi?

A. To help kids identify colors.    B. To help kids recognize animals.

C. To inspire kids to achieve all goals.    D. To motivate kids to form good habits.

31. Why does Anvitha try to make apps?

A. To win a scholarship.

B. To help children have fun.

C. To help kids and in turn change the world.

D. To show her talent and skills of technology.

"It took me a year to complete, all at night. I used almost 500 litres of paint. It was the biggest illegal graffiti(涂鸦)piece ever.”

These are the words of a man named Saber from the United States. Saber is talking about a piece of colorful graffiti that he painted in Los Angeles. Saber did not have permission for this painting. It was on city property. Was the graffiti a piece of art? Or was Saber a criminal because he painted it illegally?

Abdal Ullah, a councilor in London, told TIMES magazine, “Graffiti is a crime. It ruins the environment. It makes our neighborhoods feel less safe. And it costs thousands of pounds each year to clean.”

Graffiti artists often use high technology paint. This is hard to remove or paint over. Large cities spend millions of dollars a year to remove graffiti. Graffiti is also often done in places where other criminal behavior takes place, including violence and the use of illegal drugs.

Some people say that some kinds of graffiti can be considered art. Saber from Los Angeles said, “My painting shows 22 years of intense art making. And I think art is the number one goal for myself. Graffiti is the way I learn. Art gets a bad name because it is considered something only for a few people in society. It is seen as something only a rich or highly educated person can understand. And that is not true. Every single child in the world drew a picture once and had that excitement.”

Luckily, there is a group called Writerz Blok in San Diego, California. They set up 12 walls where people can legally paint graffiti. Marcus Tufono, who works at Writerz Blok, explains, “Our goal is to move the illegal graffiti to a legal wall, and then put it on a computer screen and some software, so that they can take their art and use it around the community. Then graffiti artists have a chance to succeed through their art.”

32. Saber’s painting was illegal because      .

A. it was painted at night     B. it was on public property

C. its creator was a criminal  D. it was of poor quality

33. What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about?

A. The advantages of graffiti.    B. The bad effects of graffiti.

C. The cost of removing graffiti.    D. The materials used for graffiti.

34. Which statement may Saber agree with?

A. Graffiti is a type of art.     B. Only a few people understand art.

C. Graffiti is not a good way to create art.    D. Children should be encouraged to draw graffiti.

35. According to the last paragraph, people working at Writerz Blok           .

A. help artists paint graffiti legally    B. encourage people to paint graffiti freely

C. punish people for painting graffiti   D. remove illegal graffiti in their city

Anxiety and nervous tension are a part of living in today’s fast-paced, high-stress society. Stress caused by nerves can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, depression and stroke. While there are numerous chemical substances on the market meant to decrease anxiety that might require a doctor’s prescription, many people choose more natural therapies(疗法) to help calm verves.

Massage

Massage has been found to help relieve anxiety due to the release of tension in the muscles and pain relief. According to the mayoclinic. com, massage may induce the body to release serotonin, which is a natural painkiller and can increase feelings of wellness.   36  Get a massage when you are feeling physically or mentally stressed in order to relax muscles and release tension.

Yoga

Yoga is physical exercise that helps relieve stress by encouraging deep breathing and stillness.   37  It is important to breathe through all of the moves in yoga exercises and keep your body calm and relaxed.

Meditation

  38  Meditation helps the mind to relax by bringing the focus away from any problems that might be occurring, focusing the mind on a specific word, picture or breathing. Meditation poses are usually performed while you are seated in a cross-legged position on a comfortable surface, or you can lie down, but must not fall asleep. The mind stays active during meditation, but is calm.

Aromatherapy

  39  Certain scents(香味)are said to give you energy and others help induce a state of relaxation. Choose scents that you can connect to a happy time in your life to induce feelings of pleasure. For instance, if you had a rose garden as a child, rose scents might help you to relax.

Herbs

Certain herbs have properties that work to help induce relaxation and calm nerves. Kava is available in both supplement and tea form and works to decrease anxiety. According to experts, you should take no more than 250 mg daily to reduce stress.   40  They are best taken before afternoon or nighttime rest and should not be consumed when you know you will be driving.

A. Use meditation to calm the nerves.

B. Use scents to help calm your nerves.

C. Stress victims are to be found in every walk of life.

D. Don’t ever assume a panic attack is the cause of the problem.

E. Most of herbs can be purchased individually or in relaxation teas.

F. When performing yoga, you should keep your mind still and free of any outside interference to obtain best results.

G. Studies have shown that massage can assist in anxiety reduction, withdrawal symptoms, and stress and anxiety relief.